Michael Rosenbaum Is ‘Honored’ to Be Fans’ Favorite Lex Luther Decades After ‘Smallville’ Premiered (Exclusive)

Michael Rosenbaum is “honored” to be called the best Lex Luther more than two decades after Smallville premiered.

“I wasn’t aware of it for a long time, that people thought this way or felt this way,” Rosenbaum, 52, told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting his new book The Talented Farter. “It wasn’t until the last five or ten years that I started to feel it. People would have top ten lists, and I just didn’t believe it for so long.”

Rosenbaum made his debut as Lex Luther on season 1 of Smallville, which aired throughout 2001. He departed from the show following its seventh season in 2007, but returned for the 2011 series finale.

“It’s been a lot of years. I think when you’re doing it, you want people to appreciate what you did,” Rosenbaum said of the show. “There [are] so many Lex Luthers in the past, and I wanted people to be happy with what I did. I was happy.”

Social media wasn’t really a thing when Smallville was at its peak, so Rosenbaum didn’t experience an “instant response” from fans. “It was kind of a crapshoot,” he admitted.

Rosenbaum told Us that he’s really “humbled” by the continued response from Smallville fans.

“I’m proud of it. It’s amazing how many new people are watching Smallville, and their kids now are watching it. A new generation,” he added. “We started it all. Before us, there was no Flash and Arrow and Superman & Lois and Gotham.”

He went on to call Smallville a “well-crafted” and “great show,” crediting the writing, acting and cinematography.

“I think that’s why there’s so many of those [superhero] shows now, and even more movies,” Rosenbaum said. “I think Smallville was a big reason for that.”

Smallville also created a “beautiful thing” for Rosenbaum offscreen. The actor’s friendship with former costar Tom Welling — who portrayed Clark Kent on the WB series — has transformed over the years mostly, in part, because of the show’s continued success.

“We were friends, but we didn’t really hang out because we worked all the time,” Rosenbaum recalled. “It wasn’t until after the show ended, I got Tom to start doing autograph signings. We have a rewatch podcast called ‘TalkVille’ and we do this thing called Smallville Nights, where they do little events at these cons. We just became closer and closer.”

Now, Rosenbaum and Welling are “trying” to sell a show together. “We’re like brothers,” he added.

Welling and his 5-year-old son, Thompson, even showed major support for Rosenbaum’s recent children’s book, The Talented Farter.

“Him and [wife] Jess [Lee] have read the book, and they sent me a video, actually, today,” Rosenbaum told Us before sharing that the book is about a little boy whose “only ability, is to make his farts sound like things that you hear every day.”

The actor said the book “adds humor to life” and he’s super proud of writing it. (Yes, all the fart sounds included are from Rosenbaum himself.)

“Everybody gets a kick out of it. I mean, farts are funny. They’re part of the norm. People do it. I don’t care,” he said. “You never know what you’re gonna get with a fart. It could be the weirdest sound you’ve ever heard.”

The Talented Farter is out now.